Island



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J. & T. SHARPE. v WOOL 'OOMBING MACHINE. vN0. 492,170. Patented Feb. 21, 1893 m VENTURE;

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. v

' J. 8v T. SHARPE.

WOOL GOMBING MACHINE.

N0. 492,170. Patented Feb. 21, 18-93.

WITNEE'SEE. INS/ENTER s.

JOHN Sl-IARPE AND THOMAS SHARPE, OF THORNTON, RHODE ISLAND.

WOOL-CO'IVIBING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 492,170, dated February21, 1893. Application filed May 31, 1892. Serial No. 484,877- (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN SHARPE and THOMAS SHARPE, of Thornton, in thecounty of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have jointly inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Wool-Oombing Machines; and wehereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, ref erence being bad to the accompanyingdrawings, forming part of this specification.

This invention has reference to improvements in adjustable mechanism foroperating the guide-aprons of a wool-comb.

The object of the invention is to produce a wool-comb in which themovement of the guide-aprons may be adjusted without reference to thespeed of the drawing-off rolls and the delivery-aprons carried thereby.

The invention consists in the peculiar construction of the guide-aprondrive-rolls and the combination therewith and with drawingoff rollsprovided with suitable gears, of mechanism intermediate the drawing-drolls and the drive-rolls of the guide-aprons, whereby the movement ofthe drawing-off rolls is transmitted to the drive-rolls of theguide-aprons in a greater or less degree, as will hereinafter be morefully described and pointed out in the claims.

' Figure 1 represents a top view of a woolcomb showing the arrangementof the aprons and indicating the means for driving the guide-aprons.Fig. 2 represents a top view, partly in section, of the mechanism fordriving the guide-apron. Fig. 3 represents an elevation of the sameremoved from the woolcomb and from the supporting brackets to moreclearly indicate the operation, parts of the rolls being broken away.Fig. 4 represents a portion of a wool-comb showing the improvedarrangement of the draw-off rolls and the guide-apron drive-roll, alsoindicating the method of driving the same. Fig. 5 represents an enlargedtop view of a portion of the bracket for supporting the mechanism fordriving the guide-apron. Fig. 6 represents a sectional view of the sameshowing the movable-stud, for carrying the intermediate gears and shaft,clamped in a slot of said bracket.

Similar numbers of reference designate corresponding parts throughout.

drawing the sliver from the large circle, and

8 and 8 indicate the usual rolls by which the sliver is drawn from thesmaller circles.

These rolls 7 and 7 and 8 and 8' are fluted longitudinally and areprovided with shafts vertically journaled in suitable bearings; theshafts of the drawing-off rolls 77 are also provided with the gears 9-9.

The delivery-aprons 10-10 are formed of any suitable material and arecarried by the drawing-off rolls 7 and 8 driven in any ordinary mannerand pass between these rolls and those marked 7 and 8, anintermediateapron 11 being carried on the rolls 88'. Thesedelivery-aprons 10.10 are guided and distended by thevertically-journaled rolls 12 and 13, and 14 and 15.

The guide-aprons 16-16 are supported on the vertical guide-rolls 1717and on the drive-rolls 18 also vertically journaled, the lower portionsof these rolls 18 being furnished with gears 19 which may form portionsof said rolls or be secured thereto.

Intermeshing with the gear 19 is an idlegear 20 removably secured to theupper end of the shaft 21, by the screw 22, which is suitably journaledin a bracket, not shown in the drawings, and to the lower end of thisshaft 21 is secured the gear 23 which intermeshes with and is driven bythe gear 9 carried by the shaft of the drawing-off roll 7 to whichrotation is imparted from the frictional contact of its fluted surfacewith the surface of the delivery-apron 10, or the sliver carried by thatapron.

By reference to Fig. 4; of the drawings it will be seen that thedraw-off rolls and guideapron drive-roll are vertically journaled inpositions adjacent to the large circle. The draw-off roll 7 has avertical shaft 24 which is journaled in the comb-frame 25 and is drivenby a gear 26 at its lower end intermeshing with one of a train of gearsoperated in the usual manner by the vertical-shaft 27. The draw-off roll7 has a shaft 28 journaled at its lower end in the bracket 29 dependingfrom the upper bar of the comb-frame in which bracket is also securedthe lower end of the shaft 30 on which the roll 18 is rotatable. Alsodepending from the upper bar of the comb-frame is a small bracket 31 andin this bracket is secured an adjustable stud 31' which extends into asocket formed in the lower end of the shaft 21 and on which said shaftis rotatable and from which said shaft, carrying the gears 20 and 23,may be removed and a similar shaft carrying other gears substitutedtherefor.

YVhen it becomes desirable to change the size of the gears 20 and 23,the stud 31' is moved along the slot with which the bracket 31 isprovided, being clamped to the bracket by ordinary clamping means shownin Fig. 6 to locate the stud at the proper distance from the gear 9 andthe gear 18.

It will be apparent that, by changing the size of either of the gears 20or 23, the speed of the drive-rolls 18 and consequently the speed of theguideaprons will be altered and by this means they will be driven eitherfaster or slower than the delivery-aprons.

In the usual construction of a wool-comb both the delivery and guideaprons are run over or between fluted-rolls and are, consequently,subjected to much wear from said rolls, whereas, in our improvedarrangement, only one belt is acted upon by the fluted rolls, theguide-belt being operated on by smooth rolls which do not tend to wearit in the same degree as in wool-combs as heretofore constructed. Againwhere the belts are both corrugated by the action of the rolls theirfriction on the sliver is equal, and at the point where the guide-beltis directed away from the delivery-belt the sliver is apt to follow thedirection in which the guide-belt is moving and becomes wound around thesame, at every turn gathering additional sliver the removal of whichnecessitates the stoppingof the comb, but in our improved constructionthe guidebelt being smooth has very little pull on the sliver and henceis not apt to draw the same away from the delivery belt or apron. WVealso find that in some cases it is desirable to drive the guide-belt ata greater speed than that at which the delivery-belt is traveling, thisbeing accomplished, as stated, by changing the gear 20,

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent 1. The combination with the large and smallcombs, the drawing-off rolls and delivery-aprons of a wool-combingmachine carried thereby, of drive-rolls vertically j ournaled adjacentto the large circle and separated from the draw-off rolls, guide-beltsdriven by said rolls, guide-rolls for distending the same, andadjustable means intermediate the draw-off rolls and the drive-rollswhereby the latter are driven, as described.

2. The combination with the larger combcircle 5, and the smaller circles0-6 rotatable within the larger circle, the d raw-off rolls 7 and '7'vertically journaled near the inner circumference of the larger circle,the rolls 77 being rotatable by suitable mechanism, the draw-off rollsSand 8 vertically journaled adjacent to the circumference of the smallcircles, gears 9 on the shafts of the rolls 7'7', and delivery-apronscarried by the rolls 7 and 8 and distended by the rolls 12 and 13, andit and 15, of the guide-aprons 1b supported on the rolls 17 and 18, agear 19 provided on the lower portion of the roll 18, a gear 20intermeshing with said gear and removably secured to the upper end ofthe shaft 21 suitably jonrnaled, and a gear 23 secured to the lower endof said shaft and intermeshin g with the gear 9, as described.

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands.

JOHN SIIARPE. THOMAS SIIARPE. Vitnesses:

M. F. BLIGH, HENRY J. MILLER.

